Abstract
During research on experimental rickets in young dogs in the early 1920s Mellanby observed that diets poor in vitamin D and rich in cereals were highly effective in affecting mineralization of bones and teeth. In a series of classical studies it was shown that the rachitogenic effects of cereals depended on cereal type, degree of extraction, ripeness, and extent of germination (reviewed by Gontzea and Sutzescu, 1968). Bruce and Callow (1934) finally demonstrated that the agent responsible was phytic acid (myoinositol 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakis di-hydrogen phosphate), a phosphorus storage compound ubiquitously distributed in the plant kingdom and found in all cereals, many legumes and nuts, and a few fruits, tubers, and roots. The rickets-producing effects of phytate are to this day not fully understood but appear to be due in part to the poor availability of phytate phosphorus and partly to the ability of phytate to bind Ca to form an insoluble complex from which Ca is unavailable for absorption in subjects whose vitamin D status is marginal.
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Davies, N.T. (1982). Effects of Phytic Acid on Mineral Availability. In: Vahouny, G.V., Kritchevsky, D. (eds) Dietary Fiber in Health and Disease. GWUMC Department of Biochemistry Annual Spring Symposia. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6850-6_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6850-6_10
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